We'll Never Break as One Too Strong
by M.L. Widmann
Summary: This is the sequel to my first Harry Potter fic, My Flower in a Field of Weeds. Hope you all enjoy it just as much! **Check out the sequel to this fic, 'You Can't Blame Me for Hating It!**
1. We're All Here for You

**Disclaimer:** Everything in this story belongs to JKR. Except Sara. She's mine.

**Part II:**

**We'll Never Break as One Too Strong**

"_**Passionate love to be all night long, we'll never break as one too strong." –Green Day**_

Chapter One: We're All Here for You

_Sara,_

_Meet me outside the Great Hall after you've finished eating. We can talk._

_From Cedric_

I read the note again and again, mulling its meaning over each time in my head. His messy handwriting was just as beautiful to me as it was the day I'd first admired it. It wasn't anything spectacular, yet I could pick up on the cheerful tone in his writing, regardless of the lack of emotional grammar or teeny smiley face doodles. I knew then he loved me. I know now he loved me. A single teardrop fell to the wrinkled piece of parchment and I didn't bother to wipe it away; I didn't want to risk harming the letter. As I ran my fingers over the thick creases from where he'd folded the parchment into an airplane, I felt like I was no longer alone – a presence. Sure enough, I looked up to see Lizzy standing at my bedroom door.

"Oh," I quickly wiped the tear-track off my face and smiled. "Hey Liz."

"You're reading the letter again." She said softly before sauntering over to my bed and letting herself fall beside me. When I didn't respond, she bobbed her head up and down at a slow pace. "You miss him, don't you?"

"Every day."

"You have Fred, you know. He loves you; he'll help you get over this."

"I know." I sighed. "Cedric was my best friend; I don't know how I'm going to deal with this."

Lizzy didn't say another word. Instead, she sat up and wrapped her bony arms around me. "You have so many friends who will help you deal with it." Her voice was muffled by my shoulder, so she pulled back and spoke more clearly. "I'm here. You've got Fred and George and Katie... and Neville, Harry, Hermione, Ron... we're all here for you."

"Yeah... Thanks, Liz."

Lizzy could tell by the look on my face I wasn't in the mood to talk. She gave me a quick hug before leaving me alone once more. It didn't take long for me to realize that sitting on my own was unsettling, so I decided to walk over to my desk and reread the letters I'd received from my other friends over the first half of summer.

_Hi Sara,_

_How's summer going so far? I hope everything's going well. Fred's going bonkers without you right now. _

Suddenly, the handwriting changed.

_I am not, George!_

_...Okay, I am. I miss you, Sara. I can't wait to see you again!_

_Love Fred and George_

The fact I got a letter was nice, but with no information regarding what they were up to, I was a little anxious. Were they trying to hide something from me? It's reassuring to know I was being thought about, though. Upon revisiting these month-old letters, I took notice as to how I'd been left out of all information exchange. Everyone seemed to have something to hide.

_Sara!_

Katie wrote in giant block letters to grab my attention, I'm assuming.

_We all miss you! Just checking in to make sure you're okay. No one's seen you since that day on the train; can you believe it? See you soon!_

That's nice, but when's soon? No one appeared to be giving me any answers as to what they'd been up to over the summer...

_We've all been thinking about you. Hope you're doing alright._

_Harry, Ron and Hermione..._

_I haven't been able to stop thinking about what happened. I know you must be hurting as much, if not more, than I am._

_Cho..._

_We all miss you so much! How have you been? I can't wait to see you again; it's been far too long._

_Neville... _

It became tedious to sift thought all that parchment. I fell back onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. No one was giving me any information regarding any of their whereabouts or when I would get the chance to see them, and it made me frustrated.

"Well if they don't want to see me, I don't want to see them." I huffed.

No sooner had the rhetorical comment come from my mouth than my mother responded to it from the doorframe. "That's not true, dear." My eyes met hers and she sighed exasperatedly. "You know it's not true. Why, if Fred came through this door at this very moment, you..." She noticed tears surfacing before I could wipe them away. "Sara!"

"I don't think they want to see me."

"Have you lost your marbles?" Mum chuckled, making her way over to my bed and wrapping one arm over my shoulder. "What are you looking at right now?"

"Letters."

She picked them up and ruffled them through her fingers. "Letters your friends sent you telling you they miss you and care about you."

"Yeah, I suppose."

"You understand better than anyone why they can't give information regarding their whereabouts."

A teardrop slid down my cheek and fell into my lap. "I know."

"Are you alright?"

I nodded quickly, like a bobble-head doll. "Thanks, Mum."


	2. We've Come to Get You

Chapter Two: We've Come to Get You

_Thump._

What was that?

_Thump. _

I sat up in bed, my heart now stuck in my throat, preventing any screams that wanted to escape. "M-Mom?" I took my moment to thank Merlin I'd turned seventeen in April and grabbed hold of my wand tight. "Lizzy, is that you?"

_Creeeeeeeeak._

"I swear Dad, if you're doing this on purpose..." My eyes didn't move from the doorknob as it turned slowly to the right, then the left. The fact that Voldemort was back constantly throbbed in the back of my mind. He knew who Harry's friends were; what if he'd come to finish them off?

The door suddenly swung open wide and I let loose a scream that would have awoken all my neighbours. Unfortunately, the scream was unnecessary. It was only, "Fred!"

He allowed me to sprint across the room into his arms. I'd never felt so at home. "Sara!" he chuckled. "How have you been?"

"I would love it if everyone stopped asking me that question and perhaps told me what they'd been up to recently." I said, my mood changing almost instantly from excited to bitter. I could see Fred was taken aback by my accusation, but I kept talking. "No one's given me any bit of news this summer! It's already almost time to go back to school. I don't know if Harry's okay; I don't know where you've been; I don't know anything! What have you been hiding?"

"If you quiet down a minute, I'll tell you!" Fred interjected, not in a harsh tone, but in a way to tell me to stop yelling and that everything was okay. "We've come to get you."

"Who has?"

"George, me and Dad. We took the Floo Network here. They're talking to your family downstairs – sent me to wake you. They thought for some reason that the sight of me would somehow make you, I don't know, _calmer_."

I giggled and felt myself blush. Oops. Then I remembered what he'd said. "You've come to get me? Where are we going?"

"I'm not really authorized to tell you..."

"I trust you."

"Dad is explaining it all to your parents right now. Do you think you can wait until we get there?"

I was getting shaky, but I did trust him; I knew wherever the Weasleys had to take me, I wouldn't get hurt. "Yes."

Fred wrapped his arm through mine and told me he'd meet me in the living room. When I got there, both our families sat facing each other. "Sara, there you are!" Mr Weasley exclaimed, standing at the sight of me. He and George were on the two small couches and Mum, Dad and Lizzy were on the perpendicular sofa. "Has Fred told you why we're here?"

"Not exactly." I felt anxious not knowing what was going on. "He said we're going somewhere."

Mum gazed at me. "Lizzy, too, as we understand it."

"She's coming?"

"Take care of her." Dad instructed me as Mum was already giving my little sister a hug that could have popped her head right off her shoulders.

George beamed at her, then at me. "You've nothing to worry about. Your daughters are safe with us." He put his arms over our shoulders, squeezed me tight and whispered in my ear. "How've you been?"

"Nervous." I chuckled uneasily into his. "Where're we going?"

"We'll tell you when we get there."

"That's what Fred said, too."

Suddenly I heard a small _pop! _and Fred had appeared behind me. "Bloody hell!" I jumped at the feeling on his hand on the small of my back. "Do you have to do that?" I'd passed my Apparation Test that summer as well, but I obviously wasn't having as much fun with it as Fred was.

"Yes." Fred had a smug look on his face as he gripped my trunk in one hand. "I packed your things. Let's go."

He grabbed my hand and my breathing pace quickened. "You sure you know what you're doing?"

"I'm not going to splinch you if that's what you're thinking."

"...No."

He looked me in the eye and rubbed my back. "I've got your trunk and Chuck's cage, and we're going to be alright. Take a deep breath and you won't feel a..."

Suddenly I felt a jerk in my chest and we were standing in front of a rundown townhouse. "...thing." George and Lizzy had appeared shortly next to us.

Everything around me made me think we were in the projects – shingles were falling off the roofs, shutters off the windows... "Where are we?" Mr. Weasley, who had Apparated right behind us, began to mutter something under his breath. The townhouses started to tremble and as though it was inflating from the ground up, another house materialized between numbers eleven and thirteen.

"Number Twelve Grimmauld Place." Mr. Weasley said, I assumed finally answering my question.

"The Order of the Phoenix."

"What?"

"Shut up, Fred. We'll tell them inside."

Entering this old house made me apprehensive, but if this is all I had to do to get some answers, I did not object.

"Sara, Lizzy, before the twins take you upstairs and fill you in on everything, there are some people I'd like you to meet." Mr. Weasley led me through a long hallway and around a corner to a big, black door with intricate details around the edges. "This is the Order of the Phoenix." He grasped the handle and pushed, allowing the door to swing back on its hinges. As the room before me seemed to grow upon the door's opening, I took notice of all of the witches and wizards sitting at the long, wooden dining table – and just how many of them I actually recognized.

"Are these the last ones, Arthur?" a witch with stringy, shoulder length, magenta hair asked happily.

"Yes." Mr. Weasley pushed Lizzy and I in front of him so everyone had a good look at their latest recruits, I was guessing. I was painfully aware that both Fred and George had already gone upstairs. "Girls, that's Nymphadora..." The young, purple-haired witch glared at him. "Er, sorry, that's Tonks. The man to her left? That's Kingsley Shacklebolt. Then the _real_ Alastor Moody. You know Professor Snape and my wife, Molly... The man at the head of the table there, that's Sirius Black – Harry's godfather."

"Since I was forced to go into hiding from the Ministry, the only thing I could offer up to the Order was my mother's house." Sirius explained with a short chuckle.

It made me curious when I shot a frightened look at Mr. Weasley and everyone at the table began to laugh comfortably. "He was framed, he wouldn't hurt a thing." There was a pause before he cleared his throat and said, "Everyone, this is Sara and Elizabeth Hughes."

"Lizzy." My sister's correction made everyone at the table smirk.

Shacklebolt looked pleasantly surprised. "Matthew's daughters?"

"Well, pleased to meet you." Sirius opened his arms welcomingly and smiled at us.

Mrs. Weasley stood from her seat, making her not much taller than everyone who was still sitting down. "Girls, everyone else is upstairs if you'd like to go..." I didn't let a moment pass before grabbing Lizzy's wrist and tugging her up the stairs after me. "First door on the left!" Mrs. Weasley shouted after us.

Lizzy was the first one brave enough to open the door, and I'm glad she was. Ginny nearly tackled her to the floor with her welcoming hug. We appeared to have entered a bedroom; three mattresses were lined with their headboards along the wall to my left. Hermione and Ron were sitting on the bed closest the door, Harry lay on his back on the one behind them, while Ginny, Fred and George anticipated our arrival next to the door. "I missed you!" Ginny squealed, releasing one of her arms from around my sister to embrace me as well.

"We all did." Ron interjected pointedly. "How have you –"

"We're fine." I was feeling frustrated. "Can someone please tell me what's going on here?"

Exhaling, Hermione sat straight up. "This is the Order of the Phoenix – it used to be a group of radicals against Voldemort years ago in the war. Now that he's back, Dumbledore thought it would be a good idea to get everyone together again."

"You understand now why we couldn't tell you anything in the post, mate?" George sighed. "We couldn't risk You-Know-Who intercepting any information..."

This was all too much too soon. "Are you all part of the Order, too?" Lizzy asked the question on both of our minds. I loved her for that.

"Not exactly... Not yet anyway."

Ron scoffed. "Mum thinks we're too young or something."

"Is there..." I could barely bring myself to say it. "Is there going to be another war?"

Looking around the room for anyone's opinion was discouraging until Harry swung his legs off the bed and slumped over, so he was looking at his shoes. "I don't know. They all say it feels like last time."

It was hard to recognize what good company I was finally in when the possibility of war was looming so closely over all of our heads.


	3. An Interference at Hogwarts

Chapter Three: An Interference at Hogwarts

"I'll meet you on the other side, okay Liz?" I said, barely having to bend down to reach my sister's height. She'd been feeling suffocated by me recently, so I decided to let go and feel free having her find a compartment with Ginny.

Fred and I ran through the barrier at nine and three quarters, and scurried through the cars to find the compartment where George and Katie were residing – they were still going strong. Upon glancing quickly through every window we passed, Fred came across George in a compartment holding Harry, Ron and Hermione, and we decided to slip into that one.

"George, where's Katie?" Fred asked as he plopped down next to his twin and me, next to Harry.

"Oh, she's with Angelina and Alicia."

After spending the rest of the summer with the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione at twelve Grimmauld, I didn't have many new topics to bring up, but I knew there was one thing I wasn't sure about. "Hey, Harry, why'd you end up going to the Ministry with Mr. Weasley that day?"

"Oh, the story hasn't made its way around to you yet?"

With Fred and George as my primary sources of information about Hogwarts, I was often left out of Harry and Hermione's business. "Nope, not yet. Would you like to fill me in?"

"I hate telling this story over and over."

"You don't have to..."

"No, it's fine." Harry made sure everyone else was deep in conversation before leaning in closer to me and explaining just what had happened. "I live with my aunt and uncle, and one day my cousin and I were out, and we were attacked by Dementors."

"Aren't they muggles? Why were Dementors in a muggle suburb?"

"Exactly." Harry sighed. "Anyway, I had to use a Patronus to stop them, and because I'm underage and used magic in the _presence of a muggle_," he mocked a more sophisticated, higher class, wizard, "I almost got expelled from Hogwarts."

"Expelled? That's mad! They can't expel you for that!"

"They're not."

"Well of course not, you're on the train, aren't you? So, what happened?"

"Dumbledore showed up and saved my arse."

I grinned and patted Harry on the back. "Good on you, mate. I knew you were the Headmaster's favourite for a reason."

He chuckled along with me. "Well, you know, I didn't..."

"Hiya, everyone." The voice that had interrupted Harry's made me beam from ear to ear.

"Neville!" I exclaimed, jumping up like a Chocolate Frog from my seat and wrapping my arms around his neck. "How are you?"

He hesitantly hugged back, making everyone else in the compartment laugh. "I've been fine, thanks..."

Once I noticed how close we were to arriving at the Hogsmeade station, I'd changed into my uniform. It was odd, but I felt more comfortable in my pleated kilt, itchy sweater vest, and black robes than I had the previous year, and surprisingly, even more than the clothes I'd been wearing all summer. It was as though the family I'd sorely missed for two months had gladly accepted me back into their lives.

"Come on, Sara!" Fred's voice called. I had been walking through the train with Neville, talking about summer and hadn't realized that Fred, George and Katie were already making their way across the platform. That month last year when everyone refused to speak to me under the belief that I was cheating on Fred with Cedric, he was the only one who knew I wasn't lying and spent the whole month with me. It had brought me and Neville a lot closer.

"Coming!" I shouted after him. "I'll see you at supper, Neville."

"Bye!"

We'd clambered into a carriage for four – Fred, George, Katie and I – and allowed it to pull us up to the castle's front door. Regardless of all of the terrible things I'd experienced at Hogwarts the previous year, the number of breathtaking experiences was twice as many, and I was extremely happy to be back.

Unlike most of the seventh years that would be sitting down for the Sorting Ceremony that night, I would be the only one who would be witnessing it for the first time. Yes, that's right, seventh year – my last year of school. Just the thought of being out in the working world made me squirm... oh, in a good way, don't get me wrong. It was just nerve-wracking.

I soon came to realize that the Sorting Ceremony was really boring if you weren't subjected to being a part of it. Names were called. People cheered. I guess, seeing as how I had only been in Hogwarts a year, it just didn't seem as exciting as it was for people who understood the tradition more thoroughly.

Once Dumbledore got up to say a few words before we started eating, I knew I was to pay attention.

"Welcome back for another year at Hogwarts!" he greeted enthusiastically. "First things first, I would like to introduce you to two new changes in staffing: Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank who is temporarily taking the Care of Magical Creatures position for Professor Hagrid." At the sound of this statement, Harry, Ron and Hermione all looked at each other with furrowed brows mouthing 'Where's Hagrid?' just before Dumbledore continued. "Also, taking the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts is Professor Dolores Umbridge."

Harry cocked his head and turned in to face the rest of the Gryffindors in our group. "She was at my hearing... she works for Fudge."

Completely ignoring the fact that Dumbledore was not yet finished his speech, Umbridge got up from her seat at the Head Table and made her way to his podium. She was a short, plump witch dressed all in pink. "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore. I am so excited to meet you all, and it is such a pleasure to be here with all your bright, happy faces smiling up at me. I hope we will be very good friends."

Her condescending tone made George scoff to my left. "Less likely."

"While every Headmaster has added something truly amazing to this historic school, the Ministry disbelieves in progress for the sake of progress; we should perfect what can be perfected." This did not sound like a motivational speech at all, but a way of controlling us.

Dumbledore began an applause for Umbridge as she went back to her seat, and he continued with his own, that somehow lost all importance. "What the bloody hell just happened?" Ron asked, making the group around him chuckle uneasily.

Hermione sighed. "The Ministry is interfering at Hogwarts."

"But why?" I'd never felt so out of the loop before, but I would never know if I never asked.

Hermione, who sat across from me, leaned in so our noses practically touched. "Fudge doesn't believe You-Know-Who is back." She spoke barely above a whisper even at our distance; I struggled to hear her so I focused on the lip-reading tactic. "He's putting it out there that Harry and Dumbledore are nutters and they're lying about the whole thing!"

"Why wouldn't he believe Dumbledore, though?"

"He's mad. He recognizes signs from the last time he was in power, and refuses to see them again."

I leaned back on the bench and sighed. "This is absolute madness."

Fred, George, Katie and I had gotten to the empty common room with full bellies before the rest of our friends, so we landed on the sofa and waited for them to arrive. "I can't believe this is already happening." Katie sighed and fell back onto George's chest. She continued to vent as he wrapped a section of her dirty blonde hair around his forefinger. "I knew things would start to go mad, but I didn't think it would happen the night we got back."

"I just hope this doesn't get everyone in trouble." Fred expressed, stretching his arm over my shoulder. "I mean, if there was another war, I would be one of the first to jump in and fight, but I'd hate to see anyone get hurt."

"Double-edged sword." I looked at him and sighed. "If there was a war, I'd fight, too."

"Would you?" George asked, obviously surprised at my bravery.

"I have friends, family and an amazing boyfriend to live for, and I'd fight like hell to keep them."


	4. Your Medieval Methods

Chapter Four: Your Medieval Methods

"Pass the salt?" Ron asked Lizzy, his mouth already full of bacon and sausage. Everyone was sitting together that first morning, eagerly anticipating their schedules for the upcoming year.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Ronald, why must you be so sloppy? Most people apply the condiments _before_ putting the food in their mouths."

"Sry, Hr-my-nee." Ron sarcastically spat and he grabbed the salt shaker from Lizzy. "Thanks."

"No problem." I knew my sister much too well, and oh, how in love with Ron Weasley, she was. Though I also knew he was three years her senior and probably wouldn't end up giving her a chance, I didn't want to be the one to break her heart. Let the twelve-year-old get caught in the throw of young love.

"Welcome back, Miss Hughes."

I swivelled on the bench to see McGonagall hovering over me. "Thanks, Professor."

She handed me my schedule and as she gave Fred and George almost identical pieces of parchment, she asked, "How are you?"

"Professor...?"

"I'm aware you and Mr Diggory were good friends."

"Oh. I'm getting by."

When Fred was sure McGonagall was out of earshot, he put his lips to my ear. "Do you want to start walking to our first class? We've Defence Against the Dark Arts together." He could tell I was heading back to depressing territory and was instantly in the mood to be alone.

"George and Katie, too?"

"George and Katie, too. We can get away from the rest of them."

"...Okay."

Fred nodded and raised his voice again. "Sara and I are going to Umbridge's class; did you two want to come along?"

George and Katie looked up, obviously aware he was addressing them. He answered for the both of them. "Yeah, definitely; let's go."

I was so used to Herbology following breakfast every morning that if everyone else hadn't headed for the grand staircase, I would have gone straight outside to the greenhouses. "So, do you know where exactly we're going?"

"Yeah," Fred responded, taking his time climbing the staircase, thus causing us to fall greatly behind Katie and his brother. "It's actually right next to the classroom we had last year." He double-checked the schedule and pointed it out. "Yeah, see?" He could tell I wasn't in the mood to talk, or put much thought into anything else that wasn't the topic already on my mind. "You okay?"

"I really miss him."

Fred wrapped his arms tightly around me and gave me a peck on the forehead. "Don't worry; you know George and I will always be here for you if you ever want to talk about it."

"Thanks."

"Come on then; let's get to Umbridge's class... Take your mind off him."

We never suspected that going to Defence Against the Dark Arts would only take me out of one mood and put me in another.

"This is your seventh year at Hogwarts; am I correct in making this assumption?" The stumpy, toad-like witch dressed all in pink stood at the front of the classroom. George sat in the single desk to my left and Fred, to my right. No one wanted to answer her question, so she scoffed. "So I can assume everyone here will be completing their N.E.W.T examinations at the end of this year." There was a brief pause before she exhaled sharply and said, "Hm?"

The class took her hint. "Yes, Professor."

"Good. Now, due to the constant replacement of the post I am currently filling, your background on the subject has been terribly uneven and off of the curriculum since Professor Quirrell."

I looked to my left. "Who...?"

"Nutter carrying You-Know-Who attached to the back of his head. Apparently that story never got out to the Ministry..." George whispered, being very cautious as to not attract Umbridge's attention.

"I'll be giving out your new textbooks. There will be no usage of spells in my classroom." There was a low rumble of muttering rippling through the class. "Enough! This is my classroom and you will do as I say. There is no need to use spells to pass your written exams, so there will be no using spells! Understand?" She ignored the protests. "Now turn to page four and study Chapter One."

As the days passed, things ceased to improve. There was virtually no reason for me to even own a wand, and even the teachers had begun to grow frustrated with the way Umbridge was treating her students. On our way to the common room one evening after dinner, Fred, George and I were walking along the seventh floor when we heard two very familiar voices arguing around the corner.

Before George could carelessly wander into the open, I grabbed the collar of his robes and pulled him back into me. "Hey, what...?"

"Shh!" I put a hand over his mouth so we could hear exactly what McGonagall and Umbridge were discussing.

"I do not want you punishing my students, Dolores." McGonagall sounded stern, but the anger with her co-worker was seeping through the more she talked to her. "If you have any issues with one of them, you can refer them to me."

"Are you saying you don't trust me, Minerva?"

"I'm saying I don't agree with you and your medieval methods."

"I don't know what in heaven's name you're talking about..."

"Oh, I think you know perfectly well what I mean, Dolores."

"I tolerate many things, but one of those that I am incapable of tolerating is disloyalty."

"Disloyalty?" McGonagall scoffed, failing to hide a laugh afterward. "I am not disloyal to anyone, especially not the Ministry."

"Things here are far worse than I assumed. I'm going to talk to the Minister and directly apply some new changes around here."

"'New changes', what the hell does that mean?"

"It sounds like she's got it in for us, George."

I'd been silent the rest of the journey to our common room. Once the portrait of the pink lady had swung open, I tagged along behind the twins and started for the girls' dormitory.

"Hey Sara, where are you going?" George asked. Fred had a similar look of confusion on his face.

"It's late; I'm going to relax upstairs with Katie and the girls." I gave Fred a kiss before moving over to George, giving him a big hug. "I'll see you boys in the morning."

I thought that maybe with some sleep I would feel better about what we'd previously overheard, but the morning only brought upon me identical fears. I woke up late, planning on lounging around the common room, seeing as how I didn't have class until almost noon. That plan quickly got erased when I noticed I wasn't the only one still in the common room. "Morning, Sara."

"Hey Neville," I greeted him with a yawn. "What's got you sitting around here?"

He was still in his blue, flannel pyjamas. "I'm not feeling too well."

"Did you see Madam Pomfrey?"

"No," he shook his head gingerly. "I'd just like to lie down for a while." There was a pause. "Wait, why are you still here?"

"No class on Tuesday mornings."

"Oh. Have you seen the bulletin board yet?"

"What, no?"

Neville led me over to the board on wall opposite the chair he was sitting and pointed out a flyer that was obviously the most recent – it was not torn and seemed to be overlapping everything else. It was on pink parchment.

_**Proclamation**_

_Educational Decree No. 23_

_Dolores Jane Umbridge has been appointed to the post of Hogwarts High Inquisitor._

"What does that mean?"

"She makes rules... does whatever she pleases." Neville sucked in his breath. "I think it makes her almost as powerful as Dumbledore in this school."


	5. Dumbledore's Army

Chapter Five: Dumbledore's Army

It was mid-December – Christmastime was definitely in the air. The snowflakes had stopped hurdling toward the ground at record-breaking speeds sometime while I was asleep, because when I awoke, there was a beautiful blanket of fresh snow. I loved Saturdays; it was the first day of the weekend, and therefore the first day all week I wouldn't be waking up alone. Katie, Angelina and Alicia all slept in on those days. That's why I was confused as to why I was the only one in the dormitory that morning.

"Where is everyone...?"

I quickly got dressed and jogged down the spiral staircase to the common room to see Fred sitting practically alone – I didn't recognize the five or six others lazing around. "Sara, come on let's get out of here!"

"Where the bloody hell did everybody go?"

Fred was tugging me through the portrait hole and down the corridor before I knew where we were headed. "Last night Ron and Hermione told me that everyone's gathering at some little pub in Hogsmeade today. Something about actually learning magic."

It had been fourteen weeks since I'd done anything remotely related to defence against the dark arts; the idea of using magic made my head spin. "Really? Who with?" The first person who popped into my head was Snape – maybe he had finally found a way to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Harry!" Suddenly, my Snape theory seemed impossible. Why on earth would he want to help anyone but his slimy Slytherins? "Come on, if we hurry we can make it on time!"

He barely gave me enough time to put my coat and hat on. By the time we'd gotten down to Hogsmeade, Fred and I were running through the streets, trying to reach the place that Hermione had instructed we meet.

"Here it is," Fred said as we stopped in front of a small pub no one appeared to be going into. "The Hog's Head." He pushed the door open and held it for me, but didn't move far passed the front door. Apparently we weren't the only ones running late; the only other people in the pub were George, Katie, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and a Ravenclaw girl with long, platinum blonde hair and an equally pale complexion.

"Um, hey." I said, timidly. Over the past few months, the only person from their group of friends I'd really communicated with was Neville, which is probably why I didn't recognize their new friend.

"Fred! Sara!" Hermione jumped on the balls of her feet and gave us both a running hug. "I'm so glad you decided to show up."

Fred laughed. "Of course, Hermione."

She must have noticed my confused look, because she gasped. "Oh! Sara, Fred, this is Luna Lovegood." Hermione motioned to the blonde Ravenclaw, who sat on a stool next to Harry looking quite spacey. I wondered if she always looked like that or she was just waiting for the meeting to start. "Take a seat, we'll be starting soon!"

"Is this everyone?" I asked hesitantly.

Harry sighed and looked around. "Hermione, I told you this wasn't a good idea; no one's going to come and learn from me – they all think I'm some nutter who's claiming Voldemort is back."

"You never know; it's a nerve-wracking time, Harry." Ron explained, shuffling his feet side to side. "People will want to learn how to fight back."

"Not if they don't believe there's anything to fight back against," argued Harry.

Luckily, people started to pile into The Hog's Head a few minutes later; Hermione was getting anxious. From the row of chairs closest the trio, I noticed Ron whispered something into her ear – probably something about how he thought no one else was coming, and it was time to get things started. She took a deep breath and stood strongly before the group of almost thirty people. "You all know why we're here. We need a proper teacher..."

"Why?" A stern-looking Hufflepuff boy.

Ron stepped forward, defending Hermione's honour. "Because You-Know-Who is back, you lousy git!"

"Says who?"

"Dumbledore!"

"Dumbledore only says because Potter says."

Before the pub broke into mass chaos, Luna's tiny voice erupted. "Is it true you can produce a Patronus charm?"

The mob settled down and Hermione beamed at the fact that her plan was working out after all. "Yes, I've seen it."

"And he's slain a Basalisk with the sword in Dumbledore's office!" Neville exclaimed, feeling proud that he knew a personal detail about seemingly the most popular boy in school – for better or worse. All of these declarations were causing the mob to mutter amongst themselves.

"And one time," Ron said, getting much too involved in the conversation, "he fought about a hundred Dementors at once!"

Hermione grinned at Harry. "And last year he really did fight off You-Know-Who..."

"Would you all shut up?" Harry shouted, putting a stop not only to his friends' compliments and bragging comments about him, but also the constant muttering of about thirty Hogwarts students. "It sounds great when you say it like that, but I had no idea what I was doing; I nearly always had help."

"He's just being modest..."

"No, Hermione! Doing this stuff in the real world, it isn't like school. In school, you can try again tomorrow, but if you're a second away from watching a friend die..." His words made my eyes wide and tore through my heart. Cedric... "you have no idea what that's like."

Hermione sighed, breaking the awkward silence that had made a home in the pub. "No, we don't. But if we're going to fight..." Hermione hesitated before boldly saying "Voldemort, we're going to need some sort of help."

I looked at Harry pleadingly, as I could only imagine everyone else in the room was doing. He eventually nodded. "Alright."

"Good on you, mate." Ron slapped his best friend hard on the back.

Hermione had set up a piece of parchment and a quill for everyone to sign up for the lessons. Hers and Ron's signatures preceded Harry's at the top of the scroll, Ginny, Luna and Neville were next, and by the time I'd reached the front of the line my name was right under Fred and George's.

Lizzy wasn't in third year yet, and therefore couldn't come to Hogsmeade, but I was sure she wanted to be involved. Harry agreed to let her come to meetings, but wouldn't let me sign for her. I completely understood the issue with that, and thanked Harry for being so reasonable.

I also noticed that there were a majority of Gryffindors signing up with some scattered Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. No Slytherins bore witness to the creation of what the three of them had dubbed Dumbledore's Army. I only recognized a few other people who had signed up to join the DA: Cho, Parvati and Padma, Angelina, Alicia, and a few other Gryffindors I hadn't gotten a chance to get to know. I guessed this would have been a good way to meet people.

Once people had begun to disperse from The Hog's Head, Katie and I had also left and found a bench on which to sit just outside. The snow had started falling gently again, and I was grateful to have Fred's old hat keeping me warm.

"You think Harry will be a good teacher?"

I shrugged. "Could be. He's got experiences under his belt none of us can even imagine."

"I suppose." Katie nodded in agreement. "But he says he has no idea what he's doing."

"He's got to know something." I insisted. "He couldn't have escaped You-Know-Who purely on luck... could he?"


	6. St Mungo's for Christmas

Chapter Six: St. Mungo's for Christmas

"Miss Hughes... Miss Hughes!" The voice I heard was not one I'd expected to wake me up in the early hours of the morning – it was still dark outside, that's all I was processing.

McGonagall's face had come swimming into coherence. "Professor?"

"Miss Hughes, I need you to come with me."

"But wh...?"

"No time for questions, Miss Hughes." I slid my feet into my slippers and shuffled quickly after her down the spiral staircase and out of the common room. I checked my watch. It was four in the morning. I didn't care that my hair was messy and falling out of its elastic, or the fact my pink nightdress was twisting around the shoulders. I couldn't think about that at a time like this – something must have happened.

As we speed-walked further and further away from the Gryffindor sanctuary, I began to get worried so I tested my luck again. "Professor, is everything okay?"

"Oh, far from it, Miss Hughes." Her voice was shaking, which doubled the fear weighing down my heart. If McGonagall was this anxious, it could not be good news. "I know you're close with the Weasley twins..."

My stomach did somersaults. "Are they alright?"

"Their father... he's had... You know, they really should be the ones to tell you what happened."

"I understand, Professor." Just because I understood didn't make it fair.

Just when I was wondering how long it would be until we reached our destination, or how long it would be until I could ask Fred what was going on. Both of my curiosities were answered once McGonagall led me into Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore stood behind his desk and he was talking to Harry. Meanwhile, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny and Lizzy were already sitting on stools lined on the side of the room. All of the Weasleys looked distressed. Fred nor George didn't jump up and hug me as they usually would have, Lizzy seemed to be consoling Ginny, and Ron sat in complete silence.

The conversation between Harry and Dumbledore grew heated. "Were you watching this happen from afar or were you there, standing over the scene?"

"Neither, I... Professor, what does this mean?"

"I do not yet know, Harry."

When it was clear the Headmaster was going to say no more, McGonagall, in her nightdress and hair worn down, gathered the group of her students together. "We've arranged it for you to go visit your father in St. Mungo's for Christmas. If he's better soon, which I suspect he should be, Mrs. Weasley says you can stay at..." she unnecessarily looked around before whispering, "headquarters."

I noticed George begin to tear up, at which point I took him into my arms. "George, what's going on?" I asked quietly into his ear so no one could hear.

He whispered back. "Harry had a dream Dad was at the Ministry and got attacked by a snake. They inspected it, and it was more of a prophecy than a dream; Dad was actually... he..." A single tear fell from his eye and I embraced him once more.

"He'll be okay, George. He will."

The next day, all of us entered St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries escorted by Mrs. Weasley. She appeared to be the most distressed person in the building.

"Where can I find Arthur Weasley?" she cried to the woman behind the reception desk.

The woman looked at Mrs. Weasley patiently and looked at the list before her. "First floor ma'am."

She needn't say more before the Weasleys' mother ran toward a flight of stairs, followed by her family. We checked every room that we passed down the corridor, when suddenly I heard a screech that could only mean she'd found her husband.

"Arthur!" I didn't feel as though I should be one of the first people in the ward. He should see his family at such a time; Lizzy and I would wait outside the door – Harry was practically like family to them. From the sound of things, his injuries were healing quite well; though, he was probably still bloodied up, because I took note that Ginny wouldn't look at him directly.

A while later Fred came out of the ward with George and Ron. "How is he doing?" I asked hesitantly.

For the first time in a long time, Fred spoke to me. "He's looking... _better_, I expect."

"And how are you?" I added quietly.

"Dunno. Just a shocker to see him like that, y'know?" I wrapped him in a tight hug and smiled meekly.

"I know. He'll be alright to come home before we've to leave for Hogwarts?"

Ron's head pumped up and down, despite the frown stretching his features. "Yeah, he should be back by then."

I forced a grin. "Well, that's good news!"

Fred and George sighed and spoke up in unison, "I suppose."

We'd all spent the day at St. Mungo's – moving from his ward on the first floor to the visitors' room on the fifth did give me a lot of exercise and time to think. We'd learned the man sharing the ward with Mr. Weasley had been bitten by a werewolf, and a wild-haired woman was refusing to tell the Healers just what had bitten her. They assumed she'd been in possession of some illegal creature.

As I sat alone in the visitors' room for a quarter of an hour, I looked up as I did when a new face entered, only this time, I recognized the face. "Neville?"

"Sara?" His voice sounded more surprised than mine did. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here with the Weasleys... Their father got attacked by a snake."

He gasped. "Is he alright?"

"It's looking up – he'll be fine, but the family's a bit of a mess."

"I'd imagine."

"Wait, what are you doing here?"

"Gran didn't want me to stay at Hogwarts, what with things being the way they are now..." Neville smirked bashfully and looked at the white-tiled floor. "Well, I'm visiting someone... it's always hard. Usually Gran comes with me. I hate going alone... Would you come?"

"Come where?"

"Fourth floor – spell damage." By being in the hospital all day, I'd learned that the fourth floor was for irreversible, unliftable curses – the absolute worst place to be sent in the entire building.

He touched my shoulder gently and led me to the staircase. "Who are we visiting?"

"My parents."

"Your parents are here?"

"This ward here, come on." My feet had lost the ability to move, so he tugged me in, but not long after, he couldn't move much closer to the two beds nearest the door. I ended up pulling his nervous, twitchy figure toward the occupied beds. "H-hi Mum... Dad."

The woman with short, greying hair that one could tell used to be thick and dark, and wrinkles around her hazel eyes smiled. "Hello, my child." Neville's face displayed nothing but heartbreak at her words. "Are you here to replace my water?" He looked in his hands to see he was carrying a water goblet. "Err, no..."

My eyes began to water at the realization of what was happening. They'd no memory of their son. "Are you going to sing for us, boy?" The man, I assumed was his father, asked. "I do hope so; it's quite dingy sitting in here all day. I could use the sound of a young talent such as you."

"No... I'm here to visit you. I haven't come since the summer."

Mr. Longbottom let his head rest on his left shoulder. "Summer? Do you visit often?"

"Yeah, I do... I... I wanted you to meet my friend." I took a step forward so I would be standing next to Neville. "This is my friend, Sara. She's actually helped me through quite a lot."

"That's sweet, dear." Mrs. Longbottom smiled. "Are you two...?"

I chuckled, feeling quite embarrassed. "Err, no Mrs. Longbottom. We're just friends."

"Well it's good to meet you." Neville's father beamed. "You should visit as much as this boy here."

Neville gave me a look, reassuring me they wouldn't know who I was had I come to visit again. "I will."

Leaving the ward, I wiped the tears building in the corner of my eyes. "Those were your parents?" I didn't know what to say, so I decided on, "They seem like nice people."

Neville smiled. "They were tortured in the First Wizarding War by a witch called Bellatrix Lestrange." He shook his head and leaned back against the wall. "I come to see them as often as I can hoping they'll remember me... but..."

"It must be difficult."

"Oh no, they were tortured because they refused to give up valuable information. They gave themselves for the rest of us... I'm quite proud to be their son."

I grinned and put my arm over his shoulder, which was hard to do, seeing as how he was so much taller than I was. "They'd be proud to have known you, Neville."

He nodded and smiled at me. "Thanks for coming with me, Sara. You should be getting back to the Weasleys now..."

"Yeah, I should. Fred's been quiet."

"Let them know I'm wishing them well."

"I will. Thank you, Neville."

"Oh, hey, Sara?"

Before I was completely out of earshot, he caught my attention making me turn around to look at him. "Yeah?"

"If I don't see you later, happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas, Neville."


	7. Expelliarmus!

Chapter Seven: Expelliarmus!

Just as McGonagall had promised, Mr. Weasley was out of St. Mungo's by the day after we'd visited. He was going to be home for Christmas.

"Look who's home!" Mrs. Weasley beamed as she wheeled her husband up to the end of the long dining table. Everyone was tense when she had gone, unsure of how their father would be feeling, or in what condition he may currently be. Once they'd come through the door, every Weasley child breathed a sigh of relief. Aside from some bruises and bandages around his head, he was looking fine. The wheelchair, Mrs. Weasley explained, was just a precaution as the venom had previously taken the use of his legs.

"Dad!" Ginny squealed and wrapped her arms carefully around her father. "How are you feeling?"

Mr. Weasley beamed at the sight of his daughter. "Much better – thanks to Harry! Had it not been for him... well, who knows what state I'd have been in when they had found me." Everyone in the room seemed to be very happy, but Harry did not take kindly to being rewarded in such a public setting.

"Err, thanks Mr. Weasley."

Once the generous feast that we'd all worked together to make had been collectively enjoyed, Harry stayed back to speak with his godfather and the rest of us went into a family room to exchange gifts. Mrs. Weasley had handed everyone a bulging package that had not been wrapped with much care, probably because most of her care was focused on her injured husband. I tore into my poorly wrapped, plush gift to see a long scarf knitted with red and purple wool.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley!" I beamed. "I love it; it's beautiful!"

"Oh, you're welcome, dear."

Fred and George chuckled next to me, so wondering what they found so humourous; I leaned over to look at the gifts in their hands. Mrs. Weasley had mixed up her own sons – Fred was in possession of a red sweater bearing a golden 'G', while George had Fred's green sweater with a golden letter 'F'.

"That happens often?" I laughed along with them as they swapped back.

Fred, who was relaxed now knowing his father was safe, put his arm around me and grinned. "Yeah, it's fine. Mum's a bit of a basket case with so many of us to look after... I'm surprised she knows all of our names."

Besides the red and purple scarf, I'd opened a frame from Fred that contained a moving photograph of us from the Yule Ball – we were laughing hysterically at something, and looking into each other's eyes. Just gazing upon the scene brought those enviable memories of an easier time rushing back. I couldn't help but notice Cedric and Cho were dancing in the background. I had to remember to show her this photograph.

Being back at Hogwarts was a great pick-me-up after such a depressing Christmas. Fred's father was fine, but Harry, Ron and Hermione seemed uneasy after our trip back to Grimmauld Place. Despite their apprehensive behaviour, the trio had organized a DA meeting in the Room of Requirement upon our arrival. Last year's trip, which had had me wishing to see Fred again in a much less jealous state, made my return to this room much more anticipating.

Once inside the Room of Requirement, I couldn't believe my eyes. The room I'd previously seen with Fred looked like a cosy motel room next to this stadium. There was definitely enough room for thirty students to practice their spells in here. Last meeting, we'd practiced disarming and stunning spells, but Harry felt as though we'd need a bit of review after the holidays.

"Okay everyone," he shouted so we could all hear. "Today's meeting is just going to be a practice session. Partner up and work on the spells we did before Christmas!"

I immediately looked at Fred, but he and George had already locked eyes. After the incident with his dad, I noticed Fred reconnecting the bond with his brother, so I figured I would be left out of this partnership. I didn't mind. Luna Lovegood seemed to be partnered with Lizzy, sending a rather disoriented Neville my way.

"Need a partner?" I asked.

Neville smiled a bit. "You free?"

"That I am. Want to start with disarming? I know how much difficulty..."

As though he was embarrassed by his inability to disarm a mannequin, Neville hurriedly interrupted me. "Yeah, let's do that first, then."

"You remember what Harry was saying before, right?"

He breathed in. "Don't flourish my wand and focus one hundred percent." Neville wrung his wand-bearing hand and let his head lull from side to side prior to strengthening his wrist and preparing to fight the wooden Death Eater that stood before us.

"Ready?"

"...Let's go." Neville took a deep breath and I squeezed his shoulder gently. "_Expelliarmus_!" he cried. Nothing happened. "That was horrible."

"No, don't worry about it, Neville. Try again."

"_Expelliarmus_!" Again nothing. "_Expelliarmus_!" Neville hadn't noticed, but he'd begun to flourish his wand again.

"Relax!" I felt like I was shouting a bit, but I had to get his attention, even if he was growing frustrated. "Try like this:" I made sure he was watching me before I performed the spell. "_Expelliarmus_!" I kept my voice strong and my wrist tight, and the Death Eater's wand had flown out of his hand. I'd caught it and placed it back where it belonged. "Like that. Your turn."

He blocked out the sound of the other people in the room practicing their spells, mostly stunning from the sounds of it, and focused on the task at hand. "_Expelliarmus_!" The Death Eater's wand twitched a smidge, but nothing really happened.

"Neville, don't worry. You'll get it. I'll help..."

"It moved."

"What?"

Neville beamed from ear to ear. "It moved! I'm getting closer!"

Seeing my newly dubbed best friend get so happy over his accomplishment made me grin; it also made me realize that it's these little accomplishments that should be celebrated.

"Great work today everyone!" Harry exclaimed when the meeting was just about through. "Keep on practicing and see you next week!"

I was with Fred and George, on our way back to the Gryffindor common room, when I spotted Cho picking up her bag. "I'll meet up with you two later, alright?"

"Sure, Sara." Fred pinched my side before letting me go to the Ravenclaw one year my junior.

"Hey Cho," I caught her attention, and she looked up.

"Oh, hi Sara." She wasn't sure what to do with my greeting. "How are you?"

I fingered the photograph folded in my back pocket. "I'm fine, thanks. I uh, I got a hold of something, I thought you might be interested in..."

"Oh?" As I pulled the picture out of my pocket, I tried to flatten it out as much as I could before showing her. "That's a lovely photo of you and Fred at the ball."

"Yeah, that's not what I'm showing you." I hoped I came off as sincere as I had in my head; I had a curse that made everything slipping out of my mouth have a sarcastic connotation. "In the background."

I don't think I had to point it out to her. She understood. "Cedric..."

"I want you to have it."

Cho hesitated and looked around the now empty room. "Oh no, I can't..."

She didn't have a choice. The focus of Fred and I had been off-set from the centre, so there was a gap between he and I, and Cedric and Cho. I re-creased the photo in the gap and tore it down the centre. "I know he would have wanted you to have that."

Cho stared at the newly torn photograph I'd thrust into her grasp. "Thank you... so much... I really appreciate it." She didn't have to say a word. I could tell by the way she looked at the picture of she and her late boyfriend dancing circles around the icy glass floor in their dress robes that she would never forget this moment, or that one.


	8. Disbanded

Chapter Eight: Disbanded

The next few DA meetings were very risky; Neville had found a way to make the room inaccessible to Umbridge or her new group of followers she'd called the Inquisitorial Squad. As one could imagine, Draco and his band of Slytherins had joined up right away – extra credit and a chance to bring our organization down, why not? All group meetings had been banned from Hogwarts now and what we were doing _was_ considered illegal.

The DA wasn't just about learning magic anymore; it had become the rebellion against the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, himself. Fudge didn't want anyone at Hogwarts gaining the ability to beat him in a fight. He thought Dumbledore was building an army against him because of his recent claim that You-Know-Who had, in fact, not returned. I knew he had, and I was ready to take on whatever the Ministry had coming our way to prove this fact untrue.

"Okay, today we're going to work on Patronus charms." Harry instructed, snaking in and out of groups in the crowded room. "Just focus on a happy memory, allow it to fill you up..."

I would be practicing this one with Fred. "Happy memory..." he beamed and looked me in the eye.

"...What?"

"I'm thinking of when you kissed me that time at the ball."

I felt my cheeks go red. "That was a great day."

"Great kiss, too."

Fred waved his wand with me in mind and shouted. "_Expecto patronum_!" A small wisp of silvery grey smoke came from the tip of his wand. "Excellent! Alright Sara, you give it a go."

"Okay." I focused on my happiest memory. At the moment, that memory was the time at Hogsmeade the year prior, when I had spent only a minute together with Fred, George and Cedric – the only time I'd ever been surrounded by people I truly love. "_Expecto patronum_!" Nothing happened.

"What were you remembering?" Fred asked.

I shook my head violently. "Must not have been strong enough. Let's try something else..."

My mind focused on the day at the World Cup... before the Death Eater's invaded and scared the bejesus out of me – when I had first met Fred and George.

"_Expecto patronum_!" A faded silver bat emitted from the tip of my wand and flew to the ceiling before disappearing. I laughed at my success and grinned at Fred. "Look!" In all the excitement, I hadn't noticed everyone else had stopped casting spells and the room was completely silent. "What's going...?"

Before I could get my question out, a loud bang sounded from the south wall. One of the younger Gryffindors, obviously braver than any of us, made his way toward the sound and squinted through the tiny hole that had formed, I'd assumed due to the bang. He turned back to face the rest of the DA and furrowed his brow. "Umbridge?" he mouthed.

Suddenly the whole wall exploded, sending a wave of dust and rubble toward its members. I screamed and fell back into Fred's arms at the blast that sent half of our group flying backward, mostly to the ground. "Get them!" Umbridge's voice screamed loudly.

I didn't have much time before a Slytherin girl with short, dark hair and a pale complexion cast a spell and put me to sleep.

Every member in the DA found themselves waking up in the Great Hall. Umbridge stood at Dumbledore's podium dressed in a pink suit jacket, matching skirt, and a long pink overcoat. Next to her was a Ravenclaw maybe a year or two younger than I was. We were sitting at desks in the Great Hall, single desks in single file. "Welcome to your detention," she sneered. "You all know the rules and therefore are all aware that your actions in joining this club are illicit. From here on in, 'Dumbledore's Army' will be disbanded." Muttering around the Hall gave her the impression we were miserable with her decision. Here, I thought McGonagall said she wasn't allowed to punish her students... "You have Miss Edgecomb here to thank for informing me about the club before it got any more dangerous. You will all find a roll of parchment and a quill on the desk in front of you. You will write the phrase 'I will not break the rules' as many times as it takes for the message to sink in. I say three hours is good enough..."

"Three _hours_?" Ron exclaimed. "Are you mad?"

"Three and a half for you, Mr. Weasley. Any other objections?" The silence told Umbridge we didn't want to make it worse than it had to be. "Good. You may begin."

Those three hours were the worst hours spent in my life. She'd provided _special_ quills that cut the phrase into the back of our hands as we wrote on the parchment. Everyone came out of the Great Hall bearing thick scars on their left hands, a few on their right. I clutched my hand as I left the hall, Fred's arm draped over my shoulder, George on my other side.

"I can't believe this is happening... what are we going to do now?"

Fred looked at his brother and beamed. "You know, George, I've always felt out futures lay outside the world of academic achievement."

"Fred, I've been thinking exactly the same thing."


	9. Give Her Hell

Chapter Nine: Give Her Hell

The day after our gruelling detention, Fred, George and I stayed in the common room alone, while everyone else was outside enjoying the spring weather. Katie had been spending a lot of time with Angelina recently, seeing as how we were graduating this year and she might not be seeing old Hogwarts friends as much; this gave me lots of time with my boyfriend and his twin brother.

"So what were you two talking about yesterday?" I asked as we sat on the carpet in front of the fireplace. Fred and George smirked at each other.

George decided to answer. "We're dropping out, mate."

"Dropping out?" My eyes went wide. "You're not graduating? Why not?"

"Now Dumbledore's gone, Umbridge is Headmaster; we don't need this rubbish." Fred laughed. "We have the money to start up our shop."

"But how do you know..."

"93 Diagon Alley. We rented it out with the galleons Harry gave us from when he won the Triwizard Tournament."

I stopped for a moment. They had it all figured out. "What if it goes under?"

George perked up again. "What's the difference? It's worth a try."

"You'll need an education!"

"We can come back if we need to."

I didn't want to say anything. It was their decision, and I would be a supportive friend, even if I wouldn't choose the same for myself. "That's great!"

Fred beamed at me. "Will you come with us?"

"What?" My heart stopped. I didn't want to turn them down, but in this case, I had no choice. "You want me to drop out of school?"

"You don't have to," George shook his head. "But you're invited to come with us and tell Umbridge off one last time – y'know, make a splash."

"Oh boys, I wish I could, but..."

Fred pulled me over so I was leaning on his chest. "Don't worry about it, Sara. I know you have to stay and finish school for what you want to do."

"Yeah, sorry."

"What do you want to do?" George asked, feeling quite out of the loop.

Fred smirked at me and nodded as if telling me it was okay to tell George. "Potions Master."

George burst out laughing. "Oh!" Once he regained his composure, he exhaled once more. "I'm sorry, but that explains why you like Snape's class so much even when he treats you like a Flobberworm."

"He's a good teacher regardless." With hopes of flawlessly changing the subject, I brought up the escape again. "So what are you going to do?"

The twins leaned over me to look at one another. "Stop by Umbridge's office after dinner tomorrow and take a look."

It didn't take long for the word to spread of the Weasley twins' farewell and the crowd around Umbridge's office after dinner filled the corridor. Even Peeves the poltergeist showed up to see the take down of Hogwarts' latest Headmaster.

No one was prepared for what was going to happen or when, but as the toad-like witch approached her office, the show had begun. Two figures darted passed the crowd and their Headmaster, making her jump back, away from the door and look around like a cat that may have seen a squirrel's shadow. "What was that?" The figures flew by again. "What was _that_?" Her eyes grew narrow as she glared at the people surrounding her. "Someone tell me what is going on here." Umbridge's tone went from stern to wild and shrill. "_What is going on_?" Fred and George glided up to her on their Comet 260s. "You can't fly your brooms inside the castle!" She shrieked. "I will not tolerate this! You have committed far too many offenses; you are expelled!"

"No need, we're out of here." Fred shouted as he and his brother spiralled upward toward a window. Their confidence made not only me, but everyone else laugh. Someone was finally standing up to Umbridge. George tossed a Portable Swamp package just beyond the crowd. As it began to grow, they soared upward and out of the nearest window. "Oy!" screamed Fred, "Give her hell from us, Peeves!" The poltergeist, who never usually obeyed anyone's orders, sprung to attention and saluted them before they flew off into the sky. Everyone clapped and cheered, sending Umbridge into a fit, locking her in her office, and sending me into a personal high.

That individual high immediately fell to a low as I realized on my walk back to the common room that Fred and George would be gone for the rest of the school year.

"That was bloody brilliant, mate!" Ron chuckled as he and Hermione came in the common room right after me. "Did you know about that?"

I forced a smile. "Yeah, I knew they were going to do something – didn't know what exactly. They really have outdone themselves."

"Yeah, tell that to Ron." Hermione giggled. "Fred turned his teddy into a spider when he was little."

I burst out laughing. "Oh, Ron." He looked genuinely terrified. "You can't be serious. That scared you?"

He decided he'd change the topic. "What're you going to do without your boyfriend, Sara?" he teased.

Hermione scoffed with a grin. "Great retaliation, Ronald."

"I guess I'll be spending a lot more time with you blokes."

"Wicked!" Ron pushed into my elbow as he walked passed me. "See you for breakfast, then?"

I sincerely beamed. "You know it, mate."

"Try not to miss him too much," Hermione said on her way passed me to the girls' dormitory. "It'll make the wait that much longer."

"Thanks, Hermione; I'll see you in the morning."


	10. Puking Pasties

Chapter Ten: Puking Pasties

With exams fast approaching, I had to find some way to concentrate. Unfortunately, the thought of Fred and George kept fighting its way into my head and I couldn't focus on my studies. I sat in the common room, hoping to read over my transfiguration textbook, but even looking at Ron's fiery red hair reminded me of his brothers. A voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Sara?" My nose lifted from my books to see Neville staring me down.

"Oh, hey Neville! What are you up to tonight?"

He shrugged and avoided eye contact with me. "I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me; I'm going to study in the library."

The library – that was constantly lacking in Weasleys! "Yeah, I'd love to!"

"What are you having troubles studying?" Neville had asked me once we reached the library. I'd chosen a very secluded corner and dumped the books from my bag onto its surface.

Picking up a surprisingly light Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook, I said, "Not doing anything in Umbridge's class is really making it difficult to understand."

Neville frowned. "I completely agree. I need to do things hands-on to learn, too. Let's take a look at that book, shall we?"

As he opened my textbook and flipped through its extremely basic contents, I sighed and leaned back in my chair. "This exam is going to kill me."

"Don't think like that." Neville cooed. "You'll do fine – you've just got to work hard at it. If you've no motivation to do it for yourself, do it for Fred." He must have noticed just how much his last comment touched home with me, because he appeared very self-conscious after having said it. "How much are you missing him, mate?"

"Oh, you have no idea."

Neville smiled and patted my shoulder, then began rubbing his flat hand in circles on my back. "You're almost done; then this Umbridge thing will be over with – well, for you, at least."

"Oh yeah," I chuckled. Neville still had two more years after I did. "Good luck with that."

Not much studying got done that afternoon, but later that night, I found myself with even less incentive to work. I ended up sitting in the common room with Neville, Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Harry – joined not long after by Lizzy. I felt like I hadn't seen her much during the school year, but she had made friends with people her own age and therefore didn't give her much reason to hang out with me.

"Hey Ron, how's the studying going?"

Everyone laughed as he groaned and forced himself to slouch back. "It's horrible! I can't deal with this anymore."

"Ronald, take responsibility!" Hermione shook her head.

The sombre mood of the group gave me the feeling everyone was aware of a punishing fact that I was not yet involved in. "...Is something going on?"

Had it not been for the completely empty common room, I don't imagine they would have been so open with me. Harry took a deep breath and sighed. "You still don't know why what happened to Ron's dad happened, do you?"

I'd never seen a serious side to Harry before – not like this. "N-no."

"Apparently I've got powers even Voldemort didn't know about." Ginny and Lizzy grew anxious, but this definitely wasn't their first time hearing this story. "He's got some kind of mind connection with me that he may or may not know about. I've been taking Occlumency lessons with Snape so I can resist Voldemort penetrating my mind, but that's not going very well."

"Clearly, mate. Snape's a ruddy loon;" Ron said in all seriousness, "he'd kick you out for no good reason if he had the chance."

I still didn't understand. "What does that have to do with what happened to Mr. Weasley?"

"In the dream... I was the snake."

It was nearing exams and I was walking down the corridor to the library with Neville for one last study session.

"Do you hear something?" he asked nervously as we passed Umbridge's office.

"Like wh...?"

"Shh!" Neville pulled me aside so we could peek through the sliver of space the slightly-ajar office door allowed.

"Hello you two; who are we spying on?"  
"Shh, Luna!" Neville pulled her down behind him and Ginny followed.

From outside, we could only hear Hermione's voice. "Don't you understand? We're in this together!"

Umbridge, who must have been behind them the whole time, said sternly: "That you are."

The four of us swivelled in our crouched position to see Draco and three of his cronies standing behind us: Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. They each put their wand to one of our throats and walked us into Umbridge's office.

Everything was so pink; my eyes almost went into shock. "We found these ones by the door – probably trying to keep an eye out." Pansy sneered, holding Luna's arms behind her back.

"Who were you trying to reach? Dumbledore?" Umbridge had Harry pinned to the wall with her wand.

His eye never leaving her short, stubby wand, he shouted, "No!"

"Liar!" she shrieked, slapping him hard across the face. Professor Snape came striding into Umbridge's office. "Oh good, you're here. Where's the truth potion?"

"I used up the last of my Veritaserum interrogating people, Dolores – Marietta Edgecomb, to be precise." His drawling voice somehow made me feel safe – like I had a second chance.

"He's got Padfoot!" Harry desperately yelled at Snape. Just by the way his ears perked up, I knew he understood what Harry meant. At the Order, we always referred to Sirius as Padfoot; it was his marauder name, because his animagus was a dog. "He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!"

"What is 'Padfoot'? What is he talking about?" Umbridge ordered.

Snape shrugged his shoulders once and tilted his head toward Harry. "No idea." The only words he uttered before he left kept Umbridge in her furious state.

"If you won't tell me who you were trying to reach from _my_ fireplace, I guess I'll have to use drastic measures – the Cruciatus Curse."

"That's illegal!" Hermione screamed, causing Goyle to put his wand tighter to her throat. Umbridge was about to perform the curse when Hermione screeched, "If you won't tell her where it is, I will!"

"Where what is?" Umbridge asked, sounding intrigued by whatever it was Hermione had to divulge.

She let herself hang limp, only being held up by Goyle's left arm. "Dumbledore's secret weapon."

Once Umbridge, Harry and Hermione had left the office, my heart regained a steady pace. That witch was more powerful than these four Slytherins on her own. I exchanged a worried glance with Neville as Draco held us both back. "Don't look at each other!" he shouted, poking his wand into my neck. I coughed and expected a bruise there the next morning.

Ron pulled a box of candies out of his robes and set them on the table. "What is that you've got, Weasley?"

"Sweets," he responded simply.

The Slytherins cackled. "Bugger off, they're ours now." Crabbe let go of Ginny and Ron and ran to get the sweet box from the table. They took turns taking a sugar-coated sweet and gorging them down their throats. Little did the pesky fifth year Slytherins know, Ron had taken out a box of Fred and George's Puking Pasties. Within seconds, they were kneeling on the floor, leaving Umbridge a nice surprise for when she'd returned to her office.

The four of us ran as fast as we could down the corridor and to the bridge outside the castle. My heart was beating so hard I could barely breathe, but Luna grasped my hand and kept me going.

"How'd you escape?" Hermione asked as she and Harry bolted toward us on the bridge.

Ron handed her the empty box of Puking Pasties. "I told them I wanted a snack, they told us to bugger off and ate the entire thing themselves."

Hermione cocked her head to the side and grinned. "That's clever, Ron!"

I nudged Neville and we smirked at each other. It really was just a matter of time. Harry panted. "Thanks for your help, really, but I need to do this."

"We're helping you." Ron insisted.

I nodded in agreement. "You're not doing this alone."


	11. Department of Mysteries

Chapter Eleven: Department of Mysteries

"How in the bloody hell do you expect we are all going to get to London?" Ron exclaimed as the seven of us ran down the bridge toward Hagrid's hut.

Luna, who was skipping happily along behind us, piped up. "Why don't we fly?"

We decided to take Thestrals to London – horse-like creatures that could only be seen by those who have seen death. Seeing as how Harry, Neville and Luna were the only ones who had that advantage over the rest of us, they led us down to the spot that the Thestrals usually occupied just inside the Forbidden Forest and helped us to mount these mysterious creatures.

Neville used his knees to haul me up, allowing me to clamber on top of the invisible figure. "Here Sara," he took my hands and told me where to hold on. "And don't let go."

Flying over London made my stomach turn. I much preferred my broomstick. It was like I was free-falling every time the monsters took a descent. Hermione seemed to be having much more difficulties than I was, though. On our way, Ron told me everything that had been going on; about Harry's dream that Sirius was in the Department of Mysteries under Voldemort's wand point and how they needed to get some weapon before the Dark Lord did.

The Ministry of Magic looked creepier than it had in the daytime. Harry led us to the elevator and we squished in. Ron, who had probably been here many more times than any of us, pressed a button and the elevator shot upwards.

"Department of Mysteries." The female voice recited as the elevator hit our floor and the golden gates slid open. We filed out and walked toward a big black door with a single gold doorknob right in the centre. Harry approached first, followed by Ron and Hermione, Ginny and Luna, then Neville and I bringing up the rear.

I held my breath as Harry pushed the door open. Voldemort could be behind any corner waiting for us, and the thought was extremely nerve-wracking. Fortunately, we were safe. The door Harry had opened led to a room filled with shelves, upon which there were placed blue glass balls in every size.

"What are they?" Ginny asked, inspecting the orbs with which they were surrounded.

Harry wasn't concerned with the orbs. He was bounding down the centre aisle looking at the numbers for the one he dreamt Sirius had been kneeling before Voldemort. We followed him, and he stopped abruptly at aisle number ninety-seven. "Where is he? He should be here..."

"Dunno, mate... maybe..." Just as Ron was about to offer up a suggestion, something caught Neville's eye.

"This one has your name on it, Harry!" Sure enough, as he moved closer, the glass orb containing swirling blue mist sat on a pedestal with his name engraved into it.

He pulled the orb off the shelf and stood very still. "'Neither can live while the other survives'?" he said, looking down at it. "What...?"

"Harry!" Luna shouted, making all of us look down the centre aisle. A tall, dark, hooded figure was striding toward our group. I held my wand out, as did the rest of us, and took a stand between Neville and Luna.

The man who removed his mask was Malfoy's father; I recognized him from Diagon Alley and the World Cup last year. "Potter, hand over the prophecy."

"Don't give it to him, Harry!" Neville shouted, brandishing his wand toward Malfoy Sr.

A witch had sidled up to Malfoy and sneered. She had wild black hair and a sallow face that barely proved her alive. "Oh, hey... Neville Longbottom! How's Mum and Dad?"

"Better now they're about to be avenged!" I had to hold him back, or he would have attacked her.

"Come now, Bellatrix." Malfoy purred. So, that was the woman to bring Neville's parents to their current state. "Potter, haven't you wanted to know the secret behind that scar?" Harry fingered the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. "That can happen if you give me the prophecy."

"I've waited fourteen years..." We were beginning to get surrounded by Death Eaters from all angles.

"That's a boy."

Malfoy's hand was outstretched, ready for Harry to give him the prophecy. "I guess I can wait a little longer – now!"

Taking Harry's instruction, I shouted along with everyone: "_Stupefy_!" We each directed one of our spells to one of the Death Eaters and ran as fast as we could back to the door.

"_Expelliarmus_!" I heard Neville shout next to me, sending one of the Death Eaters' wands flying out of his grasp.

"Well done!"

"Sara, watch it!"

"_Stupefy_!" I shouted, casting my wand at a cloaked figure who thought he was sneaking up on me.

Suddenly, we all recognized Ginny's voice scream, "_Reducto_!" Her spell had sent a blast down the aisle that brought all of the shelves and their contents. No one was worried about duelling anymore; we all just wanted to get out of this room. I ran until I couldn't anymore; luckily, this was when Harry had opened the door and we all piled through.

Going through the door did not bring us back to where we had been previous to meeting up with Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange. Instead, we found ourselves plummeting into a deep hole. I shrieked at the feeling – expecting ground but meeting air. Before hitting the floor, some force in the room stopped us only inches from being flattened so we had a chance to get up to our feet.

"What is that?" Harry started walking toward a huge arch in the middle of the rocky terrain room. The arch seemed to sport a smoky curtain. "There are voices..."

"I hear them, too..." Luna perked up.

Without warning, the Death Eaters swarmed into the newly discovered room, creating chaos and mass confusion. I tried casting a spell, but I felt a clamp come down over my mouth, leaving me unable to move. When everything resettled down, I found myself in the arms of a Death Eater I'd never seen before – his wand was pointed at my throat. Unlike being threatened by Slytherins, these blokes didn't care if they stabbed me in the throat with their wands before completely rendering me lifeless.

My heart was beating out of my chest. I noticed Neville being held captive by Bellatrix across the room from me, but the Death Eater didn't allow for much twisting. "I'm sorry it's come down to this, Potter." Malfoy sighed. "Give me the prophecy, or watch your friends die."

"Don't do it!" Neville shouted again. The boy gained bravery since the first time we'd met, that's for sure. That courage may get us killed, but it would save the Wizarding world. Malfoy looked about ready to knock Harry out, and he almost did, but not before a familiar voice came into play.

"Get away from my godson." Sirius had Apparated to them and was already punching Malfoy as hard as he could. Seconds later, the real Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks, Lupin and Kingsley showed up to fight. "Kids, go with Moody and get out of here! We'll take care of this!"

Harry stayed back to fight, but Moody escorted us out, which the Death Eaters had obviously not made a priority to attack. Once we'd gotten passed the lobby, into someone's office, it was just time to wait. Ginny and Luna had found comfort in discussing what had just happened; Ginny was obviously worried Harry was in terrible danger. Ron and Hermione had fallen asleep in each other's arms, while Neville had both arms wrapped around me, making me feel completely safe enveloped in his tall figure. Moody stood watch; no one wanted to hurt us.

"Is everyone okay?" Moody asked harshly. Each of us had minor injuries, cuts and bruises everywhere one could imagine, but no one was actually hurt.

What felt like hours later, Moody was leading us back out to the lobby. I hadn't a single idea as to what had happened while we were in hiding, but Dumbledore was standing in the middle of a very wet and sandy Ministry lobby holding Harry upright, as though he'd been through a horrible battle.

"What happened?" I asked Moody as he limped next to me, who had been in and out throughout the fight and may have information on the subject.

"The Dark Lord was here."

"He was _here_?" I gulped.

"Harry's fine. Fudge knows the Dark Lord's back and is alerting the _Daily Prophet_."

It was over... for now.

The seven of us spent the duration of the school year in the Hospital Wing, packed up our belongings on the last day and got on the train back to King's Cross Station along with everyone else. I'd missed my own graduation, but still got all the marks I'd required to start my dream career.

I sat in a compartment with Neville, Luna, Ginny and Lizzy on the way back, but by the end of the trip, Neville and I were the only ones in there.

"Hey Neville, I just wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" he chuckled.

"You were there for me when I needed someone, you helped me get through this year, and you've just been a really great friend."

"Anytime, Sara. You'd do the same for me."

The train began to come to a stop and I noticed two faces waiting for me out on the platform. "Fred! George!" Neville was trying to get his luggage down from the shelf above his seat. "Oh, do you need help with...?"

"Go on, Sara; get out of here."

"Thank you!"

I bounded off the Hogwarts Express and leapt into Fred's arms. "Fred!"

"I'm not Fred, I'm George."

"And you call yourself my girlfriend!"

I laughed. "No, you're Fred. You think I don't know you two apart?"

"Bloody hell, she'd good."

"How long have you been planning that one?"

"Since we got here. Fred wanted to see if it'd work."

"It hasn't been that long, boys."

Being back in Fred's arms made my heart swell, and I couldn't wait to see what life had waiting for me back at 93 Diagon Alley.


End file.
